


Dead Men Tell no Tales

by colourfulpaints



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eren is angry, F/M, M/M, Mermaids, Pirate!Levi, Slow Burn, Torture, again im sorry, again its sad, and murder, and pirates, but not really, i promise ill try my best, itty bitty bit of dubcon if u squint, levi is super sad, mermaid!eren, mermaids are evil, which i kinda hate sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:37:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7814512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colourfulpaints/pseuds/colourfulpaints
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Ok but listen to this song https://youtu.be/qvo0xMCTM_I )</p><p>I wish I could tell you that it ended happy</p><p>Pretend like his bones weren't practically snapping</p><p>Pretend like his gills didn't dry up and suffer</p><p>But that's a half-dead pirate and a fish outta water</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ten summers prior on a night like this

**Author's Note:**

> All lyrics courtesy of Aesop Rock.

A chilled wind blew about the man's head, lifting his hair and tickling his scalp through the shaved fuzz of his undercut. He gazed out across the endless horizon, choppy steel waves meeting the grey sky. The whole world looked grey today, dark clouds rolling on the horizon each monotone shade warning of a storm. He let his equally silver eyes fall closed, the dried remnants of salty sea spray crusting his face. He detested the feeling. In fact any uncleanliness at all set his teeth on edge. He often mused how stupid of an idea becoming a pirate had been with his abhorrence for filth.

“We will not be able to find port before the storm, Captain.” A steady voice sounded behind him and he blinked his eyes back open. He turned to face the man who addressed him, finding a tall blonde standing in a salute with untrimmed eyebrows and beard.

“I’m not a fucking idiot Erwin. I know that.” Levi’s voice remained relaxed, as if he didn’t care either way.

Erwin dropped his fist from his chest, releasing the formal posture beaten into from many years as a soldier, at the captain’s informal tone.

“Hanji said that it won’t be a typhoon. We will only get rain and some slight wind. How should we prepare?”

Levi let a sigh of relief as he glanced back at the sky. Rain they could deal with. He doubted the crew could handle a full on tropical storm along with the _other_ obstacle that showed up during any kind of weather.

“Just tie in the sails and make sure every crewmember is armed.” The captain shook his head as he walked, the soles of his boots thudding softly against the wood deck of his ship. He stepped down the stairs that lead from the poop deck to the main deck with deliberate slowness, making sure that every crew member that was out on the ship would hear him. Erwin followed behind him, not an unusual sight as the captain's shadow. One by one the pirates looked up from their business and stood at attention, regarding their captain.

He was of shorter stature, but by no means tiny. He wore knee high black leather boots, brown breeches, a billowing white shirt and a crisp white cravat around his neck. His ever-stern face was angled and sharp with razor eyes to match. His hair was dark black and looked sharp to the touch. Even with a slight air of aristocracy about him, everything about the man screamed predator and there were innumerable weapons hidden away on his person at all times. Even without them he could destroy anything with his bare hands. At least that is what the crew believed and shouted out in bars when they were all filthy drunk. That’s what mattered.

“As you can all see”, his commanding voice not deterred by the wind, “we’re in for a storm tonight. You better not get your goddamned blood on my ship. Somebody explain to the new recruits what's happening, as I have other matters to attend to. I don’t need any one of them to shit their pants. I don’t want to have to clean it up in the morning.” He entered the cabin beneath the poop deck and closed the door without a word or a glance back.

Some of the newer crew members looked around in confusion. Erwin took the captain’s place, rubbing his sinuses with his thumb and forefinger. He owed the man, but the captain would never cease to be a total pain in the ass to his much more responsible first mate. Erwin began to explain to the rookies what exactly they were in for that night.

 

* * *

 

The minute the door was closed behind him he was assaulted on all fronts. Auditorily and physically.

“LEVIIII!!!!” An energetic brunette knocked him over with the force from their body. Had it been anybody else they would have been dead before he hit the floor. But he knew this one's behaviors and for some reason tolerated it.

He allowed himself to be propelled to the floor as they bounced excitedly off of him.

“Jesus calm the shit down Hanji”, he looked up to speak directly to the head scientist of the crew, a young androgynous person named Hanji Zoë.

“The storm tonight will be light enough that I will be able to observe the creatures!” They bounced around the cabin, dashing from table to table to read charts or look through notes.

“I don’t know why you’re excited about the bane of my existence.” Levi pushed himself back to his feet, and leaned against the nearest wall, trying to ignore his constant irritation at the clutter within the cabin. Unable to stand it anymore he marched over to one of Hanji’s work table and started to organize the sheets of paper into stacks by their topic and date. On them were messy notes and sketches about the creatures Hanji loved so. He brushed his finger over a particularly good one, vivid memories of fins and blood flashing through his mind.

Hanji still buzzed around the space, although significantly calmer than a minute ago.

“Can I ask you a favor Levi?” They shuffled closer to him, actually becoming still for a moment. That’s when he knew they were serious.

He turned to face the bespectacled scientist.

“What do you want?”

“Can you try to capture one of the creatures tonight? I want to study them up close.”

Levi froze.

“Why the fuck do you want _that_ on my ship.”

“Because I need to know how they work. I want to know so I can stop them from hurting people.”

Levi was startled by the sincerity of their answer. He had figured it was solely a personal curiosity. To find out what made the creatures tick so Hanji could have their need to understand everything sated. But they had motives beyond themselves. If truly they hoped to stop his crew members from being hurt, then he was obliged to indulge their wishes.

“I can’t promise anything. But I’ll do my best.”

Hanji squeaked and threw their arms around the captain, “Thank you! I won’t let you down!” They scurried away to look at more notes, knocking over his meticulously organized stacks, searching for certain papers.

He sighed and started to feel a twinge of regret at his decision to acquiesce to the brunette. Having one of those monsters on board would make his life impossibly more difficult and stressful. Not to mention the ordeal of actually catching one. He groaned at the start of another headache. He hoped this worked. He wanted to stop having memorials.


	2. Crows nest scopes something afloat to the boats west

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> srsly listen to aesop rock (also sorry this one is short the intense shit will happen soon)

Levi stepped outside of his rooms onto the deck of the ship. The air was dead and he was immediately unsettled. The rest of the crew was below, trying to eat. After the gruesome description he was sure Erwin had given them, it wouldn’t be easy to stomach the mysterious stew served. He tore off a small piece of bread himself and chewed on it observing the sea. It was like glass. It was unnatural. He tried to be unfazed by the unnatural, having been across the entire world. But every storm shook him. Maybe it was because he knew what was coming. The monsters that came with the stirring of the sea, drawn to the surface by storms. He wondered if it was because they knew humans were distracted and it was the best time to attack their prey. Or maybe it was for another, unexplained reason. Hanjii probably had ten thousand theories all with more validity than his.

He heard footsteps behind him.

“Hey.”

This voice he turned to, and smiled.

“Hey.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. She kissed him gently on the cheek before looking out at the sea with him. He placed his hand over her's feeling the cold metal of her engagement ring. He had proposed a few months ago. The holy sacrament of marriage didn't really mean anything to him. It was more the idea of commitment. But no matter how much he loved her, his marriage to the sea was a bond unbreakable by death.

“Petra, will you stay inside tonight?”

She pulled back, shaking her head, sandy brown hair flipping around, “Hell no! I’m a member of a crew like all the rest. Don’t treat me like I matter to you any more than the rest of them.”

“You know that I do think that.”

She looked up at him, a little shocked at the declaration.

“Petra, you’re not just a crew member. I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. I can’t be sure about anything, but I would like to be sure about you.”

“Being a ruthless captain of the sea, you could do well to be less sentimental.”

He turned to face her, kissing her on top of her head, under her bangs, tasting dried salty spray on her skin. He was sure he probably tasted worse. But he didn’t care. Nobody was on deck. They had time.

“Be careful.” He whispered into her hair, squeezing her tight before letting go and making his way to the helm, not looking back.

She turned to look out into the waves. Flashes of lightning could be seen on the horizon, getting closer every second. The sky was darkened, all stars extinguished. She pulled her jacket closer around herself and went back below. The rain would start soon.

 

Levi pulled his captain’s hat off revealing the green strip of cloth underneath. The wind picked up, and it was close to blowing off itself. Running his hands over the worn wood of the wheel, he looked over the deck of his ship. Sailors were starting to mill about, preparing themselves for the oncoming onslaught. He felt a twist in his stomach when he saw Petra arm herself with a short sword. Had they been living a normal life, he would have liked to have a family with her. She was kind and pure. She deserved something better than the life they led.

He felt responsibility for the whole of his crew. Every time he lost one of them, it was his fault. He knew it would happen again tonight.

He lowered his head, in a way paying respects to his ship, as the first cold drops of rain dampened the wood.


	3. Like walk the plank for whom the shark thanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey naughty children its murder time

The skies opened. Seventeen crew members stood on the deck of the ship, prepared for the worst. Not only would they have to keep the monsters at bay, they would have to crew the ship in the middle of a storm. A large rolling wave rocked the ship, and his eyes landed on Petra. She stood at the edge, hand gripping the rail to keep her balance. Her hair plastered to her forehead. They were all already soaked to the skin. A crack of lightning sent electricity through the air and he shivered. He tightened his grip on the sword at his belt and the prong on the wheel. The vessel rocked violently beneath his feet, then for a moment they were still, between the swells of the waves. 

A scream broke the respite. 

He whipped his head around to see a sailor's arm, then head and torso break down to fit between the railing and be dragged down into the sea. The cracking of bones was indistinguishable from the thunder. 

Levi leapt over the railing of the poop deck, his boots skidding across the wet wood as he landed. He ran to the railing to peer over the edge, and his suspicions were confirmed. The water roiled and appeared to be boiling as the creature thrashed below the sea darkening with blood. 

“Tighten up!” He turned and yelled at his crew, a number of them frozen in shock at what they had witnessed. Petra and Erwin and a few more experienced sailors rushed to the center of the deck, staying as far away from the rails as possible. There was another scream and this time Levi saw the creature. 

It jumped from the water like a shark, mouth full of rows of razor teeth, hissing and spitting as it reached its clawed arms around the nearest victim. The creature’s long fish like tail propelled it upwards, and its humanoid upper body wreaked the havoc. Blood sprayed over the ship, dousing the nearest sailors, before the creature slammed onto the deck of the ship. It began to slither away, strong tail pushing against the planks of the deck as they dragged the still convulsing body with them. 

Levi ran across the ship as fast as he could, slipping and sliding, leather against wood. The creature’s torso had slipped between the rails before he grabbed it at the juncture of its tail fin. The sharp scales scraped his hand, and it stung as the salt from the ocean mixed with his blood, but he pulled back as hard as he could, yanking it back aboard. It moved only about a foot before he drew his sword, to drive it through the thickest part of the tail, into the deck of the ship. He aimed for the center, but between the blood on his hands and rain in his eyes, it penetrated the edge of the creature’s tail. The creature shrieked, like glass being drawn across the edge of a knife, and yanked itself off the sword, spilling black blood across the deck before slipping back into the water. 

“Fuck!” He yanked his sword out of his ship and turned to see Erwin standing on the hull on the other side, steadying himself holding to the shroud, kicking the monsters back into the ocean, hacking at limbs left and right. His lips twitched in a small smile, at least his first mate knew what the fuck he was doing. 

The rest of the crew less so. They stood huddled in the center of the ship, looking warily around, trying to figure out what to do. 

That decision was soon made for them. 

Two of the monsters had launched themselves over the ship, aiming for the center, where they knew the crew would be. They landed in the middle of the pile, and the air was rent with men’s screams. 

Levi was about to run to them, when one of the creatures landed right in front of him. It reached for his shoulder, claws digging in. His sword slipped out of his bloody hand and skidded across the ship. He punched it in the head and rolled over until he was straddling the tail. The inside of his pants were shredded as he tried to grip the creature. He drew his short dagger and was about to drive it through the thrashing creature’s throat when a shout separated itself from the crowd. 

“Levi! Behind you!”

He looked up to his left to see Petra sprinting towards him, and a large weight landed on his back, driving the breath out of his lungs. He felt the creature rake its claws down his back, and sharp teeth on his neck. He fell to his side, trying to slam the monster off, burying his dagger into the shoulder of the first as he landed. The creature landed on top of him, and he felt his leg snap.  He shouted in pain, blood spraying out of his mouth. He had punctured a lung. Every breath was agony. The teeth bit deeper, and he elbowed blindly behind him, hearing bones crack. 

Then the weight was lifted. He struggled to raise himself to see what had happened. 

Petra faced the second monster which lay on its belly, supporting itself with one arm as it reached for her with the other. She swung her sword, making the mistake he knew she would. 

She never went for a killing blow. 

It grabbed for the blade, holding on to it long enough to swing her off balance. She slipped on the wet wood and fell. Fear gripped Levi’s heart. He was unable to move. He had no weapon. The creature slithered like lightning towards her and she screamed, trying to scrabble backwards and gain purchase. But it was too fast. She shrieked as it gored her stomach with its talons and sunk its teeth into her neck. 

All sound drowned out. He could hear her screams fade to gurgles as she choked on her own blood. He could have sworn he heard his name. The monster released her, and hoisted itself over the rail of the ship, grabbing Petra to drag to the bottom of the ocean. Before falling back to the hell from whence it came, it turned to Levi. 

It smiled. 

It fucking smiled. 

He somehow stood and rushed to the edge, only to see Petra and the monster vanish below the waves. He breathed heavily, his lungs wheezing with the effort. Warm blood ran down his arms and his back. He stood for a second, before he remembered the first creature. 

It had just pulled the knife out of its shoulder and was dragging itself towards the nearest corpse. Levi began to limp towards it, grabbing Petra’s sword from the deck of the ship. 

Another creature flew up the side of the ship. He didn’t hesitate to slit its throat, dropping it back to the sea, continuing to make his way towards his target. It was just as much this fuckers fault that Petra was... dead.... as the others. And Levi was going to make it pay. 

Even with a broken leg he was faster than a beached monster. He fell on his knees next to it, surprising it, as it was occupied with the corpse. It jumped and lunged at him, but Levi no longer stopped to think. He was acting as a machine. He grabbed it by the back of the head, twisting his hand in the brown hair-like tendrils on its scalp and slammed it into the deck. It clawed at his hand and writhed beneath him but he no longer felt it. He brought the sword to its throat. 

Another object hit him on the back of the head. 

“What the fuck Levi! Don’t kill!” Hanji had emerged from their cabin. 

He turned to them with lifeless eyes. 

“Fuck you.”

He remembered Petra, refusing to deal the killing blow... 

He sunk the sword through it’s tail, not missing this time. It was pinned to the ship. He collapsed onto the deck, coughing up more blood. 

He thinks that it would be ok to die. 

Unfortunately he is slapped by Hanji. 

“Wake the fuck up munchkin. We’re not out of the woods yet.” 

The blood no longer feels warm, but cold, as it runs down his body. Maybe that’s rain. He doesn’t know. He just wants to take a break. He wants to be with his ship. With his sea. The night seems to get darker. 

“Erwin, finish that bitch off and get over here. The captain got fucked.”

She must have gotten up and left him, her voice was far away. 

He sees the creature to his right reach out to him, crying out in pain. 

Pussy. 

At least he wasn’t crying. 

His vision faded. 

He was ready to go to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip sorry i hate writing fight scenes


	4. Peg-leg navigate him starboard to port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh it hurts me when im writing this sometimes so like, idk why im doing this to me or to you. Sorry. Lmk if theres any direction you will like me to take it. Also Eren will be coming in next chapter I promise

Before he opened his eyes he knew he was immensely hung over. His head pounded and he felt like he had a mouthful of sand. Not the soft caribbean kind that makes up those beautiful white beaches and rolling dunes. The shitty rocky shell filled shit that was everywhere in any town. His limbs ached, and for some reason, breathing hurt more than it should. He could hear Hanji’s over enthusiastic tone in the background. Babbling. Did they ever shut the fuck up? 

“Hanj, please”, he rasped, “I’ve got the hangover of the century please shut up.”

“Holy shit!” They shrieked and he heard the door slam behind them. 

He groans and tries to crack open one eye. Thankfully all of the cabins in the ship have rather muted light due to the oil lamps and small port holes. His head still pounds, and he tries to sit up, but is halted by a shooting pain in his back. 

“What the fuck...?” He looks down to see his hands wrapped in white linen. He is shirtless, and his torso is dressed the same. His body is screaming with every inhale, and he feels another bandage on his throat. 

He tries to sit more, and the bone deep agonizing ache in his leg is what shakes his memory. 

The storm. 

The monsters. 

“Petra...”, his voice cracked. He saw her face, bloody and white. He heard his name gargled through a blood drowned throat. He let himself feel pain greater than any of all his wounds, but for a moment. 

Then it was gone. He was a captain. His crew were just disposable soldiers. They fought a shitty war, and none of them should have died, but none of them needed to be overly mourned either. He wasn’t worth any more than them. He repeated this mantra to himself. 

“Erwin I’m not kidding he’s awake. I told you I didn’t give him too much laudanum. I’m a doctor.”

Hanji burst through the door followed by their larger blond compatriot. His eyes widened at the sight of Levi sitting up, and Hanji rushed to his side. 

“Can you feel your leg!?”

“Of course I can feel it. It fucking hurts.”

Erwin took a step closer to him, helping him to sit up more, propping him up with pillows, “We were worried we might have to amputate it.”

“I think...” Levi struggled to remember the night before, “It was a clean break. If I can remember last night, I felt it break only once, it was a snap.”

Hanji and Erwin exchanged a glance before Hanji ventured gently, “Levi that wasn’t last night.” 

“Fuck.”

“It was almost a week ago.”

“Fuck.”

“Levi...” Erwin, sat down on the edge of the bed. 

He fucking hated it when he got all sensitive. 

“Erwin you don’t have to treat me like some shell shocked child. I remember exactly what happened. It’s not like this is the first time this has happened.”

Hanji gently placed a hand on his arm, “I know you and Petra...”

“Shut the fuck up about that. I don’t want another word to be spoken about them on this ship. They are casualties and we all have to accept that.” His voice fell and he spoke to himself, “don’t fucking talk about her.”

The other two pretended not to hear. 

“Where are we?”

Hanji stood away from the bed, making their way over to a large map pinned to one of the walls in the cabin. It was only now that Levi was noticing he was not in his own bed, but Hanji’s. They had a cabin to themselves, as their various experiments and plans took up an absurd amount of space. Every crew member ever to room with them was a nonstop barrage of complaints. 

“We’re about 2 days from the nearest port but I don’t think any of us were planning on making land soon. We have enough supplies to last a few more weeks.”

“That’s fine. I don’t want to go anywhere until my leg is healed anyway. How bad is it?” He wanted to get out of this bed and back to being the Captain of his crew as soon as possible. 

“There’s a fracture in your fibula. It didn’t move too much out of place and I was able to set it quickly. You should stay off of it for 2 to 3 months.”

His heart dropped. He didn’t have that kind of time. He trusted Erwin with his life and his crew, but he didn’t know if he could do nothing for that long without going crazy. 

Erwin stood from the bed, as if to make himself feel taller. The asshole. 

“Levi, I promise I will take care of everything perfectly while you are incapacitated.”

“Thank you Erwin. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. I just don’t want to be stuck in bed doing nothing for months on end.” What he neglected to mention was the immense likelihood that depression would follow the boredom, “Fuck, Hanj, can I have some more drugs. I feel like I’m on fire.”

They wordlessly handed him a small bottle of laudanum. He took a large swig and they cringed. It was too much, but they weren’t about to stop him. 

He felt his mind slip away a bit as the drugs took hold. At least he was no longer reeling from the pain. 

“When can I go back to my room?” Everybody found the captain slightly more pleasant and less rigid when he was inebriated, and it was evident in his speech. He could make jokes. “Not that I don’t love your decorating choices, but I tend to prefer the smell of rum and salt to chemicals.” 

Hanji cringed and Erwin shook his head at them. Everybody except his closest friends. They knew it forebode worse things. 

“Oh yeah. Did you get that fucking monster that I risked my life for you for.” 

Hanji moved nervously away, rubbing the back of their neck, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh yeah. About that...”

“What the fuck. I swear to god if you lost it...”

“No! No no no. I didn’t lose it. It’s just that”, they paused again. 

“Fucking spit it out already it can’t be that bad.”

“It’s in your room.”

“What?!”


End file.
